think we're in trouble if we have to use Amdy Farrell at Fly Half. I suppose we were in trouble anyway, they are the form side.
may prove to be a masterstroke, but he has never played a game in that posisiton.
For non egg chasers, it is like putting Gary Neville up front for a game to see how it goes, in the most important game of the group stages of the World Cup finals.
I think we are a better side than a lot of people give us credit for, defensively anyway, not sure we have the pace in the backs you need at the very top level. But then we had to leave 10 decent players behind due to injuries, so that doesnt help. They need to sort out the Leagues to get the amount of games required from our players reduced, with European games as well as the club and Intl. matches they play way too much in such a physically demanding sport.
[cite]Posted By: Ledge Knows[/cite]we could surprise a few tonight
Not with the way we're attacking the ruck and recycling ball we won't.
yeah very true - just feel we could give them a better game than they are expecting. We definitely got to compete better in the rucks I agree - the packs bloody big enough.
Play Farrell at Fly Half and use him as a battering ram. I he stands shallow rather than deep he can take out the South African back row and give the rest of the England backs more time and space. IMHO, this is a masterstroke.
We're just not good enough at the breakdown, turn it over cheaply, or too slow to catch defenses on the back foot, so Farrell won't get the chance to kick points
I can see the strategy will be to try and get within kicking range and aim for a few drop goals rather than tries or pens. Having Catt and Farrell in the side would increase the chances of a few cheeky drop goals.
Rugby is a form game, unless the teams are very closely matched there's rarely an upset (France v Argentina apart, that was a freak result although the Argies showed they're not the mugs they're made out to be).
There's a sizeable gap between us and the boks, in confidence if nowhere else, but that's enough. We won't get battered tonight but we certainly won't win.
[cite]Posted By: C_f_W[/cite]So they might but a back line led by Montgomery, Habanah et al should more than make up for it
Those two look ultra sharp the other day, I thought Montgomery was well passed it by now.
Hope I'm wrong about all this BTW!!!
I agree that they look better than us in the backs, particularly the centre.
Farrell has attributes but pace isn't one of them and Noon just doesn't have the necessary creativity at this level in my opinion although he offers something defensively.
Regarding Habana we need to try and break it down before the ball gets that far. Rees can do that but Corry is too slow for blind side and Easter isn't that experienced for a game of this magnitude.
We really need to go back to the old 10 man rugby England and hope to out muscle them up front and kick our goals.
His distribution is as good as anyone in England playing at 10, he's defence is as good if not better than Wilkinsons, his kicking from hand not bad. But there is a massive difference in chipping over conversions in RL and kicking 40 metre penalties from out on the touchline plus he's never going to make a clean break from the Bok back row but they'll know they've made a tackle when he crashes upinto them
And i make you right Len, get 100% on your set piece, starve the game and the boks of ball is the only hope. Although South Africa have the best lineout in the world so i can't see that happening.
I've seen some dreadful shite from England in the past, but I agree with Algarve - that's probably the most consistently poor perfomance I have ever seen. Sackey was woeful - how on Earth can you have a winger with no pace ffs? Farrell looks an absolute shadow of his league past - I've never seen him have a good game in union, but I've never seen him play quite as badly as he did tonight. The only players to come out of that with any credit at all were Robinson and (for the first 60 minutes) Lewsey
It's the worst England side for 20 years so what else did we expect? I actually thought at times the South Africans were too respectful, sides like Australia and NZ would put 60 past us with ease. Our forwards are mind numbingly slow, and people like Perry, Noon and Sackey are not international quality.
Every team looks OK in set piece but I've not seen an England team as bad as we are in the loose. We're getting pushed all over the place in rucks and mauls, body positions are terrible and we can't recycle possession quick enough.
Comments
may prove to be a masterstroke, but he has never played a game in that posisiton.
For non egg chasers, it is like putting Gary Neville up front for a game to see how it goes, in the most important game of the group stages of the World Cup finals.
Its like playing Phil Chapple up front.....
Not with the way we're attacking the ruck and recycling ball we won't.
yeah very true - just feel we could give them a better game than they are expecting. We definitely got to compete better in the rucks I agree - the packs bloody big enough.
The question is, will he get the opportunity to get any kicks at goal tonight?
There's a sizeable gap between us and the boks, in confidence if nowhere else, but that's enough. We won't get battered tonight but we certainly won't win.
Those two look ultra sharp the other day, I thought Montgomery was well passed it by now.
Hope I'm wrong about all this BTW!!!
I agree that they look better than us in the backs, particularly the centre.
Farrell has attributes but pace isn't one of them and Noon just doesn't have the necessary creativity at this level in my opinion although he offers something defensively.
Regarding Habana we need to try and break it down before the ball gets that far. Rees can do that but Corry is too slow for blind side and Easter isn't that experienced for a game of this magnitude.
We really need to go back to the old 10 man rugby England and hope to out muscle them up front and kick our goals.
It's our one hope.
His distribution is as good as anyone in England playing at 10, he's defence is as good if not better than Wilkinsons, his kicking from hand not bad. But there is a massive difference in chipping over conversions in RL and kicking 40 metre penalties from out on the touchline plus he's never going to make a clean break from the Bok back row but they'll know they've made a tackle when he crashes upinto them
And i make you right Len, get 100% on your set piece, starve the game and the boks of ball is the only hope. Although South Africa have the best lineout in the world so i can't see that happening.
I'm putting money on Samoa beating us.
I've seen some dreadful shite from England in the past, but I agree with Algarve - that's probably the most consistently poor perfomance I have ever seen. Sackey was woeful - how on Earth can you have a winger with no pace ffs? Farrell looks an absolute shadow of his league past - I've never seen him have a good game in union, but I've never seen him play quite as badly as he did tonight. The only players to come out of that with any credit at all were Robinson and (for the first 60 minutes) Lewsey
Rothko, can you pick my lottery numbers this week please
Every team looks OK in set piece but I've not seen an England team as bad as we are in the loose. We're getting pushed all over the place in rucks and mauls, body positions are terrible and we can't recycle possession quick enough.